Sectional hairpieces

ABSTRACT

This invention pertains to a narrow, one-piece, lightweight, self-retracting longitudinal frame forming a self-securing base for sectional hairpieces such as wiglets. The base is characterized by a unitary open frame of undulated formation wherein a wefted strip of hair extends at right angles from each undulation. The frame may be bent into any configuration to conform to any portion of the scalp and to angularly insert integral self-securing means into natural hair.

ljnited States Patent lnventor Ada Lucille Ensminger 618 Broadway, LongBranch, NJ. 07760 App]. No. 865,868 Filed Oct. 13, 1969 Patented Dec.21, 1971 Continuation-impart of 627,344, Mar. 31, 1967, now abandoned.

SECTHONAL HAIRPIECES 8 Claims, 8 Drawing Figs.

11.8. C1 132/53 Int. Cl] A413 3/00 l ield o1 Search 132/53, 54, 105 50-52 [56] llielcrences Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,165,716 7/1939Molleson 132/53 FOREIGN PATENTS 421,964 1/1911 France 132/105 PrimaryExaminer-- Louis G. Mancene Assistant Examiner-Gregory E. McNeillAttorney-Lucite dz Lucite AESTRACT: This invention pertains to a narrow,one-piece, lightweight, self-retracting longitudinal frame forming aselfsecuring base for sectional hairpieces such as wiglets. The base ischaracterized by a unitary open frame of undulated formation wherein awefted strip of hair extends at right angles from each undulation. Theframe may be bent into any configuration to conform to any portion ofthe scalp and to angularly insert integral self-securing means intonatural hair.

MENTEU 05221 I VE NTOR. Ada Lac/We fnsm/nger FIG-6 SECTIONALI-IAIRPIECES The sectional hairpieces disclosed herein are animprovement over those disclosed in my copending application, Ser. No.627,344, filed March 31, 1967, now abandoned of which this applicationis a continuation-in-part.

FIELD OF INVENTION This invention pertains to lightweight strip or bandform hairpieces such as wiglets which will provide additional hair forthose requiring same.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART Sectional hairpieces, demiwigs, and wigletsusually have a rather large fabric cap base which not only covers alarge portion of the scalp, but also the natural hair growing on thecovered portion. This cap base construction creates great dif ficultyeven to professional hairdressers, in fitting the wiglets to a patron'shead. Such difficulty is twofold. First in securing a cap base tosurrounding very thin hair with bobby pins or the like. And second, inattempting to comb the wiglet hair in with the patron's uncovered hairto obtain a desired natural effect.

It is obvious that for one to apply such a conventional wiglet to onesown head would involve the added difficulty of restricted vision of theoperational area with resulting awkwardness of movement leading tofrustration and exasperation, to say the least. Further, conventionalwiglets or cheveux postiches are expensive which works a hardship towomen of average means. This is especially true with those having saltand pepper, i.e., greying hair. A costly wiglet to match a womans'spresent hair coloring may be obsolete in only a few months, due to thecontinual greying process changes in her hair coloring.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an open, extensiblebase frame which fits across a particular area, but does not cover anysubstantial portion of a wearer's own hair and only a minimal amount ofscalp. Advantageously, this type of construction allows the wiglet hairand the wearers hair to be dispersed evenly for a natural look. Also,the open, narrow base carries it's own means of attachment to thewearer's hair, so that it may be readily fitted in the proper place andthe wiglet hair easily combed into any desired effect without disturbingthe flat frame from it's secured position close to the scalp. The light,open base cannot be felt by the wearer even if several wiglets are usedsimultaneously, and they will not tend to overheat the scalp in summeror in tropical climes as they afford natural ventilation.

According to the present invention, an improved wiglet constructioncomprises a resilient, longitudinally extensible base which can bestretched along a parted portion of the hair and curved to lay flat uponthe scalp. When it is released the attached prongs grip the wearer'steased hair on either side of the part and remain in place during andafter the combing in and styling process. Preferably, the base will beof a resilient, undulated formation carrying four sets of slightly wavy,transversely disposed prongs, each pointing inwardly toward thetransverse middle line of the base.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Further features and advantages of theinvention will be apparent in the accompanying drawings which illustratepreferred embodiments of the invention, wherein FIG. 1 is a plan view ofa one-piece resilient frame for a wiglet base in retracted position,showing a wider middle section, tapering end sections and four pairs oftransverse, in tegral hair-gripping prongs;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the base frame illustrated in FIG. I in alongitudinally extended position;

FIG. 3 is a partial plan view of the frame illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2,showing the manner in which the middle section can be stretchedindependently of the end sections;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a portion of a wiglet in normal positionshowing one method of attaching a strip of wefted hair to theundulations of the base frame illustrated in FIGS. ll-El;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a portion of the wiglet shown in FIG. d, but inextended position; I

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the base illustrated in FIGS. 11$ showing oneway of bending the frame to conform to a selected length portion of thescalp, such as the back of the head, to which it is to be applied;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a wefted strip of hair showing themanner in which the wefted end thereof is bound together by stitching toform a finished edge which is then attached to the base; and

FIG. 8 is a partial plan view of a modified frame provided with holes inthe undulated body portion through which the edge of a wefted strip ofhair may be secured to the base, and further showing the manner in whichthe prongs penetrate surrounding natural hair at an angle to theundulated flat body portion of the frame. The teased hair and part areomitted for clarity.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings,the base may be made of any strong flexible and resilient material suchas wire, plastic, etc. (sometimes hereinafter and in the claims referredto as wire"), which generally speaking is bent back and forth on itselfto form a one-piece, flat, undulated frame 10 having three integralsections and spaced hair gripping means such as prongs llla, lllb.

The longer middle section 12 of the frame has a plurality of undulations13a of even length which :may be wider than the undulations 13b of thetwo shorter end sections M. The last undulation 13a on either end ofsection 12 terminates in a pair of oppositely disposed and inwardlydirected prongs Ila which join the two end sections M, M to the middlesection. The width of undulations 13b tapers from the wider base ll ofprongs Ila to the narrower base llllc of prongs ll lb.

It will be seen from the drawings that the undulations 13a, 13b havestrong rounded ends 15 joining each leg thereof to withstand the stressof repeated extension and retraction of the frame. The legs of the Us orundulations form a parallel pattern when the frame is in retractedposition as illustrated in FIG. 1.

The comparatively long prongs have oval or rounded ends 16 to preventaccidental biting into or pinching the scalp. They are also of slightlywavy formation as at 17 for better retension of a wiglet after it hasbeen secured in proper position proximate a wearers scalp.

The wiglet 118 shown in FIG. 4 is made by attaching the stitched edge 19of a continuous length of a wefted strip 20 of hair 21, such as shown incross section in FIG. 7, to either the front or back of the reversibleframe 10 as by sewing said edge 19 by stitches 22 over and around eachparallel length and rounded end 15 of undulations 13a, 13b from end toend of the frame 10. The top of edge 19 abuts the undulation to which itis attached at a angle so that the hair 21 of the wiglet falls away fromthe base frame ll) in only one direction at right angles thereto.

A wefted hair strip is many hairs sewn together at one end in order tomake a continuous strip of joined hairs for workable purposes. I

The wefted strip of hair 20 may be attached to the frame by anyconventional means such as by continuously stitching, knotting, weaving,gluing, etc. edge 19 to the undulations as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Analternate means of attachment is shown in the modification 10a, see FIG.8, wherein the base 11d and undulations 13c are provided with mutuallyspaced holes 23 disposed along the center thereof through which thewefted strip may be sewn or otherwise attached to the frame.

The flexible and resilient base of the wiglet acts like a spring and canbe stretched almost twice its. normal length when being fitted to thearea it is to supplement, as seen in FIG. 5,

and it will tend to resume it's original shape when released. As thebase is stretched and laid against the scalp where the hair has beenparted and slightly teased, if held in place as it is gently released,the prongs serve as angular gripping devices to hold the wiglet securelyin place along it's line of retraction, as indicated in FIG. 8.Additional holding power is obtained by combing the wiglet hair into thenatural hair. With the wiglet thus secured in proper position, thewearer's hair is ready for styling such as combing it back off theforehead, etc. to blend in with the wiglet hair so that the latter isimperceptible.

One of the advantages of this wiglet is the fullness of hair madepossible by folding the narrow wefted strip of hair continuously aroundeach of the many parallel undulations 13a, 13b so that the thickness ofhair on the wiglet increases with each fold.

in use, a part is first made through a section of thinning hair. Thenthe hair on both sides of the part is slightly teased to provide athicker firmer foundation for the prongs to engage, as il-' lustratedand disclosed in my above-stated parent application. Then the wiglet isheld with the flat side down and stretched as far as necessary along theline of the part, pressed downwardly flat against the scalp to conformto the contour of that portion of the head to which it is to be applied.For example, it may be curved as shown in F IG. 6 to conform to the backof the head. Then the ends 14 can be bent outwardly so that prongs 11bwill be inserted into the teased hair at an angle to the rest of theframe which will lie flat against the scalp when the ends are releasedand the frame tends to return to it s NORMAL LENGTH. Tr-n-znsxr'rsx, THEFlRMLY sscumao WIGLET HAIR CAN BE EASILY COMBED IN WITH ALL or THEWEARER'S hair for a pleasing natural effect.

Advantageously, this multisectioned frame may also be fitted in stages,first by stretching only the middle section 12 as shown in FIG. 3, andsecuring prongs 1 1a in position. Then by stretching end sections 14separately or together to penetrate prongs llb into the teased hair.

wiglets may be made with assorted lengths of hair or cut to match thehair length of purchasers, as well as with assorted colors to match orcontrast with natural shades of hair. This improved wiglet will fill agreat need in the trade, since a customer bay buy one or more wiglets tomatch any desired shade. The convenience of inexpensive, lightweight,self fitting wiglets are presently not available on the market.

Due to simplified andless expensive construction, these wiglets may alsobe provided with hair tinted to match different dress ensembles and/orcostumes.

From the above it will be seen that applicants device is comfortable,being so light as not to be felt when worn; ventilated so as not tocause overheating; self-fitting requiring no supplementary securingmeans or awkward time consuming handling; worn flat against the scalp soas to cover practically none of the wearers hair which is free to becombed in with the wiglet hair for a natural look; has no loose ends onthe base which could tangle, thus assuring easy removal of the wigletfrom the head; and economical so as to be more readily available to thepublic.

The forms of the invention here described and illustrated are presentedmerely as examples of how the invention may be embodied and applied.

lclaim:

2. A wiglet-type hairpiece adapted to be applied by being placed more orless flat against a selected length portion of a person's scalp and toprovide hair in supplement to said person's own hair and whichincorporates means for securing itself in place by attaching to saidperson's own hair, comprising: a hairpiece base of wire bent back andforth on itself to the form of an elongate planar band or strip ofpredetermined width, and a weft of supplemental hair secured to saidwire and following the bends thereof", at least a length portion of saidelongate hairpiece base being provided by a running series of invertedU-formations of said wire which are connected by resilient U- bendswhich render said len th portion and thereby the hairpiece base as awhole extensr 1e and retractible; said base being provided adjacent itsopposite ends with hairpinlike prongs which extend along the side edgesthereof and point towards one another, said prongs being operative tosecure the hairpiece base in place following its placement as aforesaidand extension as required, and responsive to its retraction followingsuch extension.

2. A hairpiece according to claim 1 wherein said prongs are readilybendable so as to incline slightly away from the general plane of saidbase.

3. A hairpiece according to claim 1 wherein said hairpiece base hasthree length sections and at least the middle section is extensible andcontractable as aforesaid.

4. A hairpiece according to claim 3 wherein all three sections areextensible and contractable.

5. A hairpiece according to claim 3 wherein said end sections are eachreadily severable from said middle section.

6. A hairpiece base comprising a length of wire bent back and forth onitself to the form of an elongate, generally planar band ofpredetermined width, at least a length portion of said band beingprovided by a running series of inverted U-formations connected byresilient U-bends which render said length portion and thereby the baseas a whole extensible and contractable said base being provided withpairs of hairpinlike prongs for securing the base in place responsive tostretching and subsequent lengthwise contraction of said base.

7. A hairpiece base according to claim 6 wherein said prongs are readilybendable so as to incline away from the general plane of said base.

8. A hairpiece base according to claim 6 wherein said base comprisesthree sections connected in tandem.

2. A Wiglet-type hairpiece adapted to be applied by being placed more orless flat against a selected length portion of a person''s scalp and toprovide hair in supplement to said person''s own hair and whichincorporates means for securing itself in place by attaching to saidperson''s own hair, comprising: a hairpiece base of wire bent back andforth on itself to the form of an elongate planar band or strip ofpredetermined width, and a weft of supplemental hair secured to saidwire and following the bends thereof; at least a length portion of saidelongate hairpiece base being provided by a running series of invertedU-formations of said wire which are connected by resilient U-bends whichrender said length portion and thereby the hairpiece base as a wholeextensible and retractible; said base being provided adjacent itsopposite ends with hairpinlike prongs which extend along the side edgesthereof and point towards one another, said prongs being operative tosecure the hairpiece base in place following its placement as aforesaidand extension as required, and responsive to its retraction followingsuch extension.
 2. A hairpiece according to claim 1 wherein said prongsare readily bendable so as to incline slightly away from the generalplane of said base.
 3. A hairpiece according to claim 1 wherein saidhairpiece base has three length sections and at least the middle sectionis extensible and contractable as aforesaid.
 4. A hairpiece according toclaim 3 wherein all three sections are extensible and contractable.
 5. Ahairpiece according to claim 3 wherein said end sections are eachreadily severable from said middle section.
 6. A hairpiece basecomprising a length of wire bent back and forth on itself to the form ofan elongate, generally planar band of predetermined width, at least alength portion of said band being provided by a running series ofinverted U-formations connected by resilient U-bends which render saidlength portion and thereby the base as a whole extensible andcontractable said base being provided with pairs of hairpinlike prongsfor securing the base in place responsive to stretching and subsequentlengthwise contraction of said base.
 7. A hairpiece base according toclaim 6 wherein said prongs are readily bendable so as to incline awayfrom the general plane of said base.
 8. A hairpiece base according toclaim 6 wherein said base comprises three sections connected in tandem.